My triumphs and tribulations

A Tale of Two Cameras

Lucy modeling for me.

I’m at a bit of a crossroads right now with respect to photography. You see, I like to use black and white film. I have made the decision that I’m done with my Pentax K1000, and it is time to replace it. And that’s where my dilemma lies.

I could get a Canon EOS film body (the EOS-3, to be exact) and then I’d get to re-use my lenses whether shooting digital or film. Very sensible. The one tiny issue is that, see, it’s fully automatic. Just like my digital. I’d sort of like to keep my film experience very, uh, non-automatic. In a discussion over the weekend, the suggestion was made to simply turn all that off and shoot fully manual. It’s a good theory, but I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t. I just couldn’t.

My other option is get a different camera. Like a medium format “different” camera. Probably a TLR as I’m cost sensitive. One problem is that my consumables cost really starts to take off. Medium format film is much more expensive than the bulk 35mm I’m using now. Another point is that, unless I get a Mamiya, I’m only using one lens forever on my medium format. Not the end of the world, but still….

I guess logically I would say “Get the Canon EOS body,” but there’s a side of me that wants to get a medium format rig and take it for a whirl.

Related

Go medium format! I’m actually leaning in that direction. Even the lower-end systems produce some pretty amazing results (Bronica, to name one; just saw a body and two lenses in amazing condition go for less than $300 on ebay).